Violins and Health

In Italy and throughout Europe there remain some of the legendary Stradivarius violins.  Extremely expensive and rare, these violins are preserved very carefully by experts.  It came as a surprise to me that even though they are on display most of the time, they get played regularly.  It turns out that playing the violins on a frequent basis helps to keep them in a better condition.  This is very counter-intuitive, since valuables are usually kept securely behind glass, without any movement or outside contact.

This same property holds true for our own bodies.  Theoretically the best way to extend our life expectancy would be to do nothing, minimizing the amount of energy we need to exert.  In fact, the opposite is true, with those who exercise frequently and eat healthily living the longest.

In the same way that violins need to be played, people need to go places and complete goals.  The difference is that there are multiple Stradivarius violins, but you only have one body.